The items range from archive official notices and certificates to police paraphernalia.

There is also a book of mugshots from Middlesbrough Police which contains 218 photographs with descriptions from the late 1930s.

Among them is the Cook family from Middlesbrough.

Father John William, mother Sarah Ann and their sons John William and Frank William are all in the book. They were arrested and charged with two cases of housebreaking and the subsequent theft of goods.

Historian Charlotte Barron is pictured at the museum archive where they are in the process of restoring the items

In the first cases, goods to the amount of £8 17s 4d had been stolen including a lady’s gold watch when John W Mitchell an engine driver had left his house empty between 2.30pm and 10.30pm.

A woman called Mrs Dilworth of Somerset Street, in central Middlesbrough, also testified against the Cooks, claiming that her house was ransacked with goods to the value of £2 stolen, including a pair of boots.

Until recently the Victorian police station at Preston Park Museum was behind a barrier of glass which limited the visitor experience – a feature that was part of the original design from the early 1980s.

With the help of staff and volunteers it has now been transformed into a space where costumed interpreters can interact and engage with visitors.

Historian Charlotte Barron is pictured at the museum archive where they are in the process of restoring the items

A spokesman for the museum said: “The archival and less durable objects have been given a home within the main store at the museum, and these include some fascinating pieces of Teesside’s historical criminal past.

“Conservation work is underway by Preston Park Museum’s Collection Team on a mugshot book believed to be from the North Riding of Yorkshire that dates back to 1878-1896.”